Swingin’ Ape Studio’s title Metal Arms – Glitch in the System published by industry mover Vivendi Universal Games stands to rank among some of the greatest sleeper hits of this console generation.

Rather deceptively, lurking behind MA’s (Metal Arms) psuedo cutesy image lies an exceptionally tough but rewarding 3rd person shooter. MA follows the story of a civil war between the mining Droids and the war hungry MilBots led by General Corrosive, both in battle for the takeover of planet Ironside (somewhat not dissimilar to Tranformers). As battle rages, a Droid scout team come across Glitch, a droid similar of make to the mining droids themselves, but hardened for military operation. The droids take Glitch in, repaired and operational again thanks to the work of the rather tactless Krunk, Glitch’s  purpose and origin are largely unknown except for a bizarre symbol carved into his helmet. This is of little consequence to begin with as more pressing matters are in requirement of attendance, the battle against the MilBots. As a last ditch attempt to bring down the MilBot forces Glitch is recruited to infiltrate and bring down Gen. Corrosives forces from the inside. So begins Glitch’s action heavy, often humerous journey…..

 Contrary to the impression the cover art and overall art style might imply, the humour within MA is very much of the adult variety. Though censored, Krunk is well known to let loose with the expletives at any given point he graces the screen. While he maybe the only character to actually have some expletives censored, he sets the tone for the orientation of humour there on in, as throughout MA every sexual innuendo regarding robotic function is proudly displayed throughout. If your having problems imagining what that might be implying then simply count the amount of jokes you could make regarding the word “nuts.” Futher examples, a robot loathing an in-ability to get his “piston” up and another robot morbidly named “Screwed.”

This sort of humour would be lost without an adequate voice over and thankfully, this has been catered for. All the voices in this game are clear and concise, the MilBots actually taking an overly exaggerated “German” accent (Nazi implications anyone?). Overall the voice acting is suberb as robot’s scream all manner of humerous comment throughout, even more of a positive there are a few well known voices behind the colourful characters in this game.

On par with the voice acting the sound effects are suitably chunky; explosions rumble, machine gun fire pierces and all robots make a suitably clunky thudding noise as they stomp along all manner of surfaces. These sounds however cant compete with the often laugh out loud worthy humour present throughout MA.

While MA is out and out action, it features a surprisingly deep combat system. The left trigger fires secondry weapons while the right primary. This is pretty much standard fare for all shooters, however what sets MA apart is that like the name suggests, being a robot Gltch’s weapons are a part of his arms. This makes changing or reloading  weaponry rather interesting. Secondary weapons sometimes alone are not weapons in themselves, for instance, its possible to use the left arm as a scope to compliment Glitch’s right arm which maybe carrying a machine gun. Furthermore, weapons in Glitch’s primary arsenal are upgradable. To begin with, each weapon is relatively weak, given one or two upgrades however, Glitch’s arsenal becomes something to truly reckon with. Glitch can also upgrade his arm servo’s, enabling him to switch between weapons and reload at a quicker rate. Possibly one of the best weapons, thats actually not really a weapon, Glitch can use a control tether. This is a D-port plugin that can be shot into the ports of an unsuspecting enemy. This enables Glitch to hi-jack an enemy unit and use him as he see’s fit. While this doesnt really enable you to sneak around as guards will notice your off post and become rather suspicious, it does allow you to take over some very fierce enemy Mil’s which you can then feel free to use mowing down other Mil’s until you are destroyed, after which, Glitch can happily go back to himself void of harm. 

MA is also relatively easy on the eyes. For a multi-platform title, the graphics in MA suitable make use of the xbox’s power. While they wont be troubling some of the more breathtaking games available the graphics feature some fantastic light sourcing, suitably decent textures, smooth framerate, brilliant art and well thought out level design. While PS2 and Gamecube versions are available, its a safe bet the Xbox’s superior power enables it to remain a step above its competition, by how much is uncertain however as its also a safe bet to say no matter which platform you play this game the graphics are certainly a step, if not quite a few, above your average title.

I would love to go further into MA, because really, this is a well accomplished title, the only downside being that Vivendi have no interest in a sequel at this stage. Due to word restrictions and the audience reading this, I havent been able to get right into the gameplay aspects of Multi-Player or even the vehicles all available for use throughout the single and multi-player campaigns. One of the most thoroughly enjoyable and engaging shooters out there today and it’ll be a shame if Vivendi make the mistake of believing theres no market for a sequel as Metal Arms is without a doubt one of the most enjoyable sleeper hits out there right now. Go out and get a copy, WE WANT A SEQUEL!!!

Graphics – 4/5 | charming, sharp and smooth. A good looker no matter the platform
Sound – 5/5 | hilarious humour throughout backed by some chunky sound effects
Gameplay – 4.5/5 | a deep, hard as nails but rewardable single & multiplayer campaign
Longevity – 4/5 | variety of gameplay, multiplay and over 30 missions, this one takes awhile